Bucket List...

It is more important than you know to write down all of your dreams and aspirations. More often than not, people complete written lists than if they were to just say them. There will always be that constant reminder of "The List".

It feels great to cross the item off your list after completing it. Write down you dreams of traveling.

1. Where you want to go

2. What you want to do there

3. How long you want to stay

etc...

Here are some of the ideas on my bucket list:

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Tiny plankton, the algae Lingulodinium polyedrum, are red, but, when agitated, emit a light blue glow that can be seen in the dark. (I think this is beautiful and would love to witness this in my lifetime. )

sky dive

bungee jump

live in a different country

live in a different state

road trip

get a tattoo

white water raft

horseback ride

ride in a bi plane

surf

kayak

buy a snowboard

swim with dolphins

go on a safari ride

help poverty stricken areas (indigenous people)

travel

india

south america

japan

Africa

Ireland

Shoot a gun

Zip line

Pet a lion

Buy my own puppy

Visit the 7 wonders of the world

Witness country festivals

Go to a rodeo

Ride a horse

Milk a cow

Participate in Mudd rudders

Hold a koala bear

Ride a gondola in vesezuela

Go wale watching

Crowd surf

Make a difference in someones life

Go paint balling

Become fluent in Spanish

La tomato festival in Spain

The Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, or Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada

go snorkeling

swim with sharks

learn to surf

fly in a helecopeter

ride a motorcycle

ride an elephant

see the northern lights

witness a meteor shower

Hi all,

This is going to be a short post but I just wanted to share with you a useful tool for traveling.

So, I have been spending most of my time on a website called Stumbleupon.com. This website takes you all over the web to website you normally would not come across. It has been extremely helpful to me on the topic of travel. On this website you can select your interested and then it will stumble upon them over the internet. Most of the time I have it stumble the topic of travel. It has given me cheap ways to travel, cheap places to travel, cheap places to stay, ideas of what to bring and what not to bring, cool places to go, pictures of awesome sites to see, etc. You can even select your favorite websites and keep them documented so you can go back to them later to reference them.

This website will give you ideas for places to see and also give you ideas to save mad money. (And that's what us travelers are all about - I mean I know I am. I don't have the funds to spend frivolous amounts of money in one place cause then that's all I will be seeing. I want to have the most fun with spending the least amount of money so I can go to other places.)

Here are just a few website I have stumbled upon:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1ndqCz/www.vagabondish.com/8-tools-travel-long-term-live-rent-free/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9L3ey9/www.thecoolhunter.net/article/detail/1957/amazing-places-to-experience-around-the-globe-part-1/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/21rvwB/www.theexpeditioner.com/2010/02/10/how-many-days-can-i-travel-in-insert-country-here-with-1000/

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7eXPir/www.wisebread.com/travel-resources

Pura Vida

Pura Vida - translated means "pure life". This was the slogan of the mission trip I went on in high school. My trip to Costa Rica was life changing. I saw a whole new world, culture, and lifestyle. Being just thrown into a different world can be difficult. I took Spanish in High School, however I was barely able to get by. I could ask "what time is it" or "where is the bathroom", so most of the time I needed a translator.

We hooked up with a group called Pura Vida Missions. Everyday we would go out into the slums of Costa Rica and hold camps for the children there living in poverty. We played sports (ALOT of soccer), had arts and crafts, and sang songs. I became really close with Gonzalo (wearing the Spongebob t-shirt), Osmond (in the red USA shirt), and Edmond (wearing the red polo shirt). Everyday they would run up and talk to me while I tried to talk back. We communicated pretty well. They used small words so I could understand and my broken Spanish was enough for them to get the gist of what I was saying.

Gonzalo was the ring leader of the pack. He was a strong and confident boy who had a way with others. He showed me his house which you can't even call it a house. I realized that I take for granite most of what I own. I believe everyone needs to witness the things I have seen over there. In today's society, most people are materialistic and obsessed with making money no matter what the cost. Over there, they were just struggling to get by. Gonzalo even sold drugs for money. (He's ONLY 12!) I knew that these children appreciated all of us being over there. They ran to the bus everyday we pulled in. Gonzalo would run right for me, and one the last day he changed. He would barely look and talk to me. He told me he didn't like me and to go away. Later that day, my sister took another bus up there with a different group. Gonzalo grabbed a translator and brought him to my sister. He wanted to leave me a message - "I am sorry and I love you."

There are many programs like Pura Vida Missions that you could go on. Volunteer trips not only help the people you are going to see, but it also puts life into perspective for you as well. As a group we also participated in a lot of cool activities. We went to see a volcano, swam in hot springs, and went zip lining (which was a ton of fun in the rain forest). I went with a bunch of my friends so we found away to have fun in our own ways as well. So I recomend Volunteering to anyone and everyone. I had such a great experience and I know you will too.

This is a small list to get you started:

www.peacecorps.gov/

www.projects-abroad.ca/

www.gvi.co.uk/

www.travelworks.co.uk/volunteer-abroad.html

WELCOME!

Hey all,

My name is Alicia McGlade. I am currently a senior at West Chester University with a major in Communications and two minors in Studio Art and Web Technology. I started this blog for a writing and computers class I am taking this semester. My teacher told the class to think of a blog topic to write about. It took me no time at all to decide on my blog topic- TRAVEL.

I am graduating in 3 months and my only goal is to travel the world before I dive into a career and a routine. I am young, now is the time to accomplish my dreams to travel. I want this blog to be about anything and everything travel related. This will not only be helpful to my readers, but also for myself. I want to learn the easiest and cheapest ways to travel and to share them so other people might catch the travel bug as well. Personally, I have a million places I want to travel; India, Ireland, South America, Africa, etc....and even throughout the United States. I want to experience couch surfing, hitch hiking, hostel life, road trips, backpacking and much much more.

I want this blog to motivate myself and others to experience new cultures and lifestyles that are not in the norm. I want to meet unique people along the way and listen to the stories they tell. I want to see, really see, how beautiful our world is. I can read about it all I want in textbooks and listen to other people's experiences, but without experiencing the world myself I will never really learn, and hopefully along the way I will learn something about myself as well.